Opinion + Pakistan cricket team | The Guardianhttps://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/commentisfree+sport/pakistancricketteam
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Why I am unfazed by spot-fixing in cricket | Stephen Mosshttps://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/jan/13/spot-fixing-cricket-mervyn-westfield
Mervyn Westfield's crime is a throwback to the dodgy origins of the game. But the Duke of Dorset never faced jail<p>Spot-fixing in cricket is written about in the most apocalyptic terms, as if it was the greatest crime known to man. So why have I so far singularly failed to get worked up about the threat to the world's greatest sport, and its supposed reputation for fair play? The reasons are partly historical, partly philosophical.</p><p>The phrase "it's just not cricket" embodies the ethical purity of the game, but it relies on a myth. Cricket developed in the 18th century, largely because it was patronised by English aristocrats who wanted to bet on it. It was no different to horse racing, boxing or cock-fighting.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/jan/13/spot-fixing-cricket-mervyn-westfield">Continue reading...</a>CricketSport bettingPakistan cricket spot-fixing scandalPakistan cricket teamSportUK newsWorld newsCrimeFri, 13 Jan 2012 14:02:18 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/jan/13/spot-fixing-cricket-mervyn-westfieldPhotograph: Stefan Wermuth/REUTERSMervyn Westfield has pleaded guilty to taking money to fix part of a domestic match in 2009. Photograph: Stefan Wermuth/ReutersPhotograph: Stefan Wermuth/REUTERSMervyn Westfield has pleaded guilty to taking money to fix part of a domestic match in 2009. Photograph: Stefan Wermuth/ReutersStephen Moss2012-01-13T14:02:18ZCricket corruption: umpire's ruling | Editorialhttps://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2011/nov/03/cricket-corruption-umpires-ruling-editorial
To have amassed the evidence to secure the first ever criminal convictions for cricket corruption is a major breakthrough<p><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/sport/interactive/2011/nov/03/pakistan-spot-fixing-full-verdict?intcmp=239" title="">It's not cricket, Mr Justice Cooke</a> could not resist saying as he sentenced the four men at the centre of the Pakistani spot-fixing trial to lengthy spells in prison. Sadly, on the evidence that has unfolded in Southwark crown court over the past three weeks, this is what cricket is, or is becoming: a business that opens almost unlimited opportunities for gambling, and so for fixing. To have amassed the evidence to secure the first ever criminal convictions for cricket corruption is a major breakthrough, a genuine triumph of investigative journalism for the News of the World and <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2011/oct/12/mazher-mahmood-phone-hacking-pakistan" title="">its reporter Mazher Mahmood</a>, who has always insisted it did not involve phone hacking. And – however desperately sad the personal stories, in particular that of the 18-year-old bowling genius Mohammad Amir, who came from a poverty-stricken village <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2011/nov/01/cricket-spot-fixing-pakistan-trial-guilty" title="">to strike terror into the heart of the England batting lineup</a> on the second day of the Lords Test last year – the judge was right to impose immediate custodial sentences. The Pakistan captain Salman Butt – who, the court was told, had been a powerful influence on his young team-mate – bears a particular responsibility. But now what?</p><p>The evidence of the past weeks confirms what many cricket lovers have long and unhappily suspected. Corruption may not be endemic, but it is widespread. It is 11 years since another cricketing god, the South African captain <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/news/2002/jun/03/guardianobituaries.cricket" title="">Hansie Cronje</a>, was found to prefer cash and a leather jacket to defeating England in a Test match. Since then, there has been a trickle of lifetime bans and the odd fine, but no way has been found to prevent the refinement of the gambling market to the point where thousands of pounds can be won or lost on a statistically irrelevant moment that in itself amounts to nothing – no result changed, not even a run forfeited. On something as small as a bowler's footfall, the shady figures in global gambling, running sophisticated operations from transient addresses, are a little bit richer, and the sport's fans that bit poorer.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2011/nov/03/cricket-corruption-umpires-ruling-editorial">Continue reading...</a>Pakistan cricket spot-fixing scandalPakistan cricket teamCricketSportUK newsNews of the WorldNewspapers & magazinesNational newspapersNewspapersMediaThu, 03 Nov 2011 22:30:06 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2011/nov/03/cricket-corruption-umpires-ruling-editorialEditorial2011-11-03T22:30:06ZPakistan spot-fixing: A crucial test for crickethttps://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2011/nov/01/pakistan-cricket-betting-scandal-cricket
The guilty verdicts in the Pakistan spot-fixing trial will stop the game becoming as meaningless as wrestling<p>The <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2011/nov/01/pakistan-spot-fixing-butt-asif" title="">conviction of the Pakistan internationals Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif</a> in the "spot-fixing" trial is not such a bad day for cricket. Theirs was an unprecedented case, exposed by the now defunct News of the World, and everyone in the game must hope the outcome reverberates around every dressing room in the world, not just those containing Pakistan cricketers.</p><p>In the past, any sort of fixing in the game has been desperately hard to nail. Previous misdemeanours have been either undetected or unproven. But not this time. Now that Butt and Asif have been found guilty at Southwark crown court (a third cricketer, Mohammad Amir, admitted the charges prior to the trial), the crucial effect is that players from every continent will know.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2011/nov/01/pakistan-cricket-betting-scandal-cricket">Continue reading...</a>Pakistan cricket spot-fixing scandalCricketSportPakistan cricket teamPakistanWorld newsTue, 01 Nov 2011 19:40:11 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2011/nov/01/pakistan-cricket-betting-scandal-cricketPhotograph: Clive Rose/Getty ImagesPakistan's Mohammad Amir, Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif during the spot-fixing Test match at Lord's. Photograph: Clive Rose/Getty ImagesPhotograph: Clive Rose/Getty ImagesPakistan's Mohammad Amir, Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif during the spot-fixing Test match at Lord's. Photograph: Clive Rose/Getty ImagesVic Marks2011-11-01T19:40:11ZSportism: a faith in tatters | Simon Hattenstonehttps://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2010/sep/26/sport-faith-best-cheat-athletes
We made sense of life through this one rigidly ruled part of existence. Now it's all falling apart<p>Judaism, Catholicism, humanism, atheism, communism, Islamism, you-name-it-ism. Everybody has an "ism". Mine&nbsp;was sportism. I never believed in the great ref in the sky, but I always believed in the earthly version. My values were forged on football fields, tennis courts and in snooker halls. Not forgetting our garage, where my dad and I used to battle every Sunday to have our name inscribed on the Hattenstone Family Darts Trophy.</p><p>The eternal verities of sportism were simple – you tried your best and you didn't cheat. Whether a kickabout in the&nbsp;schoolyard or a cup final at Wembley stadium, the rules applied. Occasionally, you'd hear elders at football matches mutter into their blankets that certain players, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rodney_Marsh_%28footballer%29" title="Rodney Marsh">Rodney Marsh</a> for example, didn't always give of their best away from home. But we sportists didn't believe that. The notion wasn't just cynical, it was daft. What kind of madman would not give of their best when they were playing football and being paid for it?</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2010/sep/26/sport-faith-best-cheat-athletes">Continue reading...</a>SportCricketPakistan cricket teamWorld newsCommonwealth Games 2010UK newsSnookerCommonwealth GamesSun, 26 Sep 2010 20:30:33 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2010/sep/26/sport-faith-best-cheat-athletesSimon Hattenstone2010-09-26T20:30:33ZGive Pakistan cricket team a chance of redemption | Stephen Mosshttps://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2010/aug/31/pakistan-cricket-team-redemption
When it comes to Pakistan's team of mercenaries, we need to understand a little more and condemn a little less<p>There are two possible reactions to the alleged betting scam involving the Pakistan team: you can cut them adrift, as <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/cricket/article-1307289/MARTIN-SAMUEL-Do-appetite-Pakistan-remain.html" title="Daily Mail: Do we have the appetite for Pakistan to remain? All the other cheats pale in comparison ">Martin Samuel suggested in a beautifully composed article </a> in the Daily Mail yesterday, or you can try to get them out of this mess. The cricket authorities, with their matchless ability to get it wrong in almost every situation, will try to do a bit of both, and thus make things worse.</p><p>The England and Wales Cricket Board's priority seems to be to ensure that the <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2010/aug/30/icc-pakistan-betting-scandal" title="Guardian: ICC says Pakistan will not abandon tour of England">rest of the Pakistan tour goes ahead</a> – but without the alleged scammers being allowed to play. This is offensive at several levels: it assumes their guilt, thus reversing the usual judicial imperative; it puts money before principle (in some ways rather appropriate in the circumstances); and it makes a mockery of the cricket which would be played. England are already much the stronger team; now Pakistan would be deprived of their two best bowlers. The matches would be pointless.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2010/aug/31/pakistan-cricket-team-redemption">Continue reading...</a>Pakistan cricket spot-fixing scandalPakistan cricket teamPakistanCricketSportWorld newsUK newsTue, 31 Aug 2010 11:14:19 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2010/aug/31/pakistan-cricket-team-redemptionPhotograph: Matt Dunham/APPakistan's captain Salman Butt, right, and bowler Mohammad Amir are two of the players implicated in the spot fixing allegations. Photograph: Matt Dunham/APPhotograph: Matt Dunham/APPakistan's captain Salman Butt, right, and bowler Mohammad Amir are two of the players implicated in the spot fixing allegations. Photograph: Matt Dunham/APStephen Moss2010-08-31T11:14:19ZPakistan's problem is deeper than match fixing | Mustafa Qadrihttps://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2010/aug/31/pakistan-cricket-match-fixing
Amid Pakistan's general lawlessness, is it any wonder that cricketers have lost their way?<p>In Pakistan, cricket is a matter of special pride. Cricketers have for decades been ambassadors for a more positive image of the country and a source of hope and enjoyment for those whose everyday life is both difficult and joyless.</p><p>In Pakistan, we are generally averse to public displays of hedonism, except when it comes to food (in private, of course, all bets are off). But success, or failure, in cricket provides most Pakistanis with an opportunity to express themselves in ways that would normally risk censure. When our cricket team wins, people literally dance on the street. When they lose, the effigies start burning.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2010/aug/31/pakistan-cricket-match-fixing">Continue reading...</a>CricketPakistan cricket spot-fixing scandalPakistanPakistan cricket teamTue, 31 Aug 2010 09:00:01 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2010/aug/31/pakistan-cricket-match-fixingPhotograph: Tom JenkinsMohammad Asif, left, is at the centre of the latest betting allegations. Photograph: Tom JenkinsPhotograph: Tom JenkinsMohammad Asif, left, is at the centre of the latest betting allegations. Photograph: Tom JenkinsMustafa Qadri2010-08-31T09:00:01ZPakistan: sadly, there's only one Imran Khan | Tariq Alihttps://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2010/aug/30/imran-pakistan-corrupt-leaders-cricket
Whether in cricket or in politics, corrupt leaders – bar notable exceptions – are often all Pakistan has<p>Poor Pakistan. Floods of biblical proportions; millions homeless; a president who pretends to be shocked by <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/sport/pakistan-cricket-betting-scandal" title="">cricket's latest betting scandal</a> when his own persona is the embodiment of corruption. A prime minister shedding crocodile tears because of the cricketing "shame" rather than tending to <a href="http://www.allvoices.com/contributed-news/6567424-pakistan-first-politics-or-flood-relief" title="">allegations that flood-relief money has gone missing</a>. And now a sleep-walking cricket captain attempting to deny the ugly truth, but without real conviction, hoping against hope that he will ride out the crisis like others before him and that his bosses in Pakistan's cricket establishment will cast a veil over this one as well.</p><p>Even if guilty, Salman Butt and his vice-captain Kamran Akmal will try to give the appearance of having no idea of the seriousness of the allegations and will try to talk their way back, hoping, as in the past, that after a few gentle raps on the knuckles they can revert to business as usual. That would be a real tragedy, a green light to semi-legalise match fixing, and not just in Pakistan.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2010/aug/30/imran-pakistan-corrupt-leaders-cricket">Continue reading...</a>CricketPakistan cricket spot-fixing scandalPakistanPakistan cricket teamAsif Ali ZardariWorld newsSportImran KhanMon, 30 Aug 2010 20:00:02 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2010/aug/30/imran-pakistan-corrupt-leaders-cricketTariq Ali2010-08-30T20:00:02ZCricket and corruption: a sport that needs fixing | Editorialhttps://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2010/aug/30/cricket-corruption-sport-needs-fixing
That Mohammad Amir, a precocious talent, is at the heart of the current allegations is particularly damaging<p><a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/cricket/8953130.stm" title="">Cricket and betting</a> have form together. The game only became popular in 18th-century England because the aristocrats who sponsored the early clubs got their kicks from betting on games. With betting, all too often, came cheating. "What we want is no umpires and fair cheating all round," the 1920s Yorkshire cricketer <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roy_Kilner" title="">Roy Kilner</a> used to say of the perfect Roses match – if Neville Cardus is to be believed. Even today, cricket cheating thrives in many forms: charges of match-fixing and betting coups coexist with a culture of ball-tampering, sledging, time-wasting and refusal to accept umpires' decisions. So the reaction to <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2010/aug/29/england-v-pakistan-live-over-by-over-report" title="">this week's allegations</a> that Pakistan's bowlers have been delivering no-balls as part of a betting fix should be kept in perspective. Cricket in shock? Puhlease. Not cricket? Get real.</p><p>Cricket's problem, at least until recently, is that cheating is at odds with the game's lovingly burnished Corinthian self-image, in which well-bred muscular underachievers from the public schools captained and waved the willow wand while salt-of-the-earth artisans from the shires did the bowling and splendid chaps from the colonies brought a dash of devil-may-care to the proceedings – providing they knew their place. Much of this was hypocrisy, of course, even when such ideas still held wide sway. It was a Winchester Oxonian, Douglas Jardine, who planned the most deliberately intimidatory cricket contest of all time in the Bodyline series of 1933, and an Etonian Conservative 14th earl, Alec Douglas-Home, who presided over English cricket's cringe towards apartheid South Africa in the D'Oliviera affair in 1966.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2010/aug/30/cricket-corruption-sport-needs-fixing">Continue reading...</a>Pakistan cricket spot-fixing scandalCricketPakistan cricket teamSportGamblingUK newsSun, 29 Aug 2010 23:02:02 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2010/aug/30/cricket-corruption-sport-needs-fixingEditorial2010-08-29T23:02:02ZPakistan is not the target; deal fixers are | Peter Prestonhttps://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2010/aug/29/pakistan-cricket-match-fixing
Cricket needs to use its TV-generated fortune to strike at the root of the match-fixing problem<p>There's one heart-warming sight you can see any normal day in the villages of Pakistan: a rutted strip of earth, a few sticks driven into it, a bat, a ball, and young boys playing cricket. This isn't just any game: this is <em>the</em> game. It is also a field of dreams. If you want to grow up to join Europe or Latin America's rich and famous, you try football first. In Pakistan, it's cricket.</p><p>Now take the dreams and park them outside Lord's. What are those kids on their rutted tracks thinking today? That the heroes they worshipped are <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2010/aug/29/match-fixing-pakistan-cricket-england" title="Guardian: Mentor defends Mohammad Amir over no-ball claims">soiled forever</a>, idols to be discarded? Or that they did what anyone at the bottom of the heap would do: saw a chance to make money and took it?</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2010/aug/29/pakistan-cricket-match-fixing">Continue reading...</a>Pakistan cricket spot-fixing scandalPakistan cricket teamPakistan floodsCricketSportPakistanWorld newsUK newsGamblingSun, 29 Aug 2010 16:30:54 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2010/aug/29/pakistan-cricket-match-fixingPeter Preston2010-08-29T16:30:54Z